Better Safe Than Sorry
by KimiNinja03
Summary: Leo, Donnie, and Raph are immediately suspicious when Mikey starts keeping a secret; one that has him coming home later than they are comfortable with. So what do they do to put their minds at ease? They follow him, of course! (AU Human one-shot) Dedicated to Darkcrowprincess! (Warnings: uh, cheesy bro-fluff!)


**Hey guys! My life is all over the place right now with events. Oh well, it's a miracle I even have the time to write at all! Haha, but I'll never give up on any of my stories mid-through, that's a promise!**

 **I just wanted to post this because one of my fabulous reviewers asked me too and I dedicated it to her! Hope you enjoy it** **Darkcrowprincess and hope that everyone else likes it as well!**

 **HAPPY READING! (For those that don't know AU= Alternate Universe, which means I can write it how I want and not stick to canon** **)**

* * *

 _ **Raphael's Point of View:**_

I knew somethin' was up with my kid brother. First off, he would come home late from school every day since tha past two weeks and that didn't sit right with Leo, who's always paranoid and suspicious. I thought nothin' of it, at least not until he started ta pull away from us a little at home.

For example, he stopped prankin' us…it was as if tha chucklehead had better things ta do and that was just not like him. He was mutterin' ta himself and was on his phone a lot. I had half a mind ta steal tha darn thing if it weren't _always_ with him. Donnie had tha same idea.

I was suspicious over the whole "no longer clingin' ta one of us and or botherin' us with his constant chatterin". I was on edge because of it…it just wasn't right for our youngest brother ta keep away from us and even stranger for him not ta be with one of us nearly every hour of tha day, if anythin' just ta annoy us. That's just how he was.

Donnie was suspicious over tha fact that when he once tried ta question Mikey about where he goes, Mikey got all nervous and then defensive when Don called him out on lyin' ta us about where he was goin'. Donnie first told Leo about it, which made our eldest brother worry, and then he shared tha facts with me. Leo and I were particularly alarmed because Mikey always talked ta Donnie and practically told tha genius everythin'. So why was he hidin' something from even Don?

Leo was worried that Mikey could be gettin' bullied and shared that with us just last night, which surprised Donnie and I because we just thought it might be somethin' stupid that Mikey was doin' and not anything dangerous. Don denied seeing any physical markings of bullyin' but Leo insisted that somethin' like that could still be happenin'. Leo also decided that we shouldn't tell our Father and Sensei, Master Splinter, what was goin' on with Mikey….besides Sensei already could tell somethin' was off with the youngest.

So that's when we made tha plan ta follow Mikey after school today. Usually Donnie tutored but he bailed out of it today and I even canceled my plans ta go ride around with Casey. As soon as tha bell rang we all met up at Leo's locker tha way we always do after school. Leo's was tha closest ta tha exit/entrance ta tha school and we always walked home together if we could.

Predictably Mikey brought up that he was goin' ta do some extra studyin' with his Math teacher, because he was fallin' behind in Algebra, and wouldn't be home until later. We knew it was a lie but ta make sure nothin' got in tha way of our plan we nodded our consent and "left" without him.

That's how we got where we are now, crouchin' behind tha side of tha stairs ta wait for Mikey ta sneak out after he'd thought we were gone.

"Are you sure he's gonna come out this way?" Donnie questioned as he turned ta look at Leo. I looked at him as well, because he was squattin' in tha middle of us with an unfamiliar scowl on his face, "He might go out the back way…"

"No, I think he'll go out this way," Leo replied in his serious leader tone. Donnie looked at me uncertainly and I rolled my eyes, shruggin' helplessly. Donnie sighed and eyed the door worriedly.

"What if he's not getting bullied?" Donnie spoke up again, oddly anxious and all over the place like Mikey usually is. Leo finally broke his gaze to look at Don seriously.

"What do you think he's been doing these past two weeks Don?" Leo asked with honest curiosity and a hint of worry, "You really seem to think it's not bullying…but I can't think of why else he would hide something like this from us…from you especially."

I frowned when Donnie looked down sadly and his hands clenched from where we were all holdin' on ta tha cement railin' by tha stairs, "He's not acting much different other than the fact that he's giving us _space_ now…so I don't think he's gotten into any bad habits…but…"

"By bad habits I sure hope you don't mean drugs or anything," Leo narrowed his eyes but his face paled, obviously as horrified as Don and I were by his words, "He's not acted like…that."

"I never said anything about drugs," Donnie shook his head and I growled, "Plus even if we didn't know he was doing that then surely Leatherhead would find out-"

"Look, let's just stop guessin' and just follow tha brat, okay?" I interrupted and they looked at me seriously before noddin'. I nodded too and we all turned silently ta watch for Mikey.

Turns out that we didn't have ta wait long before he pushed open tha doors and walked out. We were all very surprised ta see he actually _was_ with his Math teacher and they were talking happily before they waved goodbye and Mikey started walkin' away.

Leo looked at us and jerked his head, a sure sign ta follow his lead. I offered no argument this time as we quickly followed after him, runnin' behind some benches ta make sure Mikey didn't spot us. A tiny voice in my head reminded me that it was wrong ta basically stalk my brother but I squelched it quickly. Something could be wrong and I'll find out _right now_.

Mikey was happily hummin' a tune before he surprisingly took a turn that would absolutely _not_ lead him home…in fact it was in the _opposite_ direction. Donnie frowned at us and we returned that frown before he silently started up the cement wall beside the sidewalk and used our years of ninjitsu training to stalk after our baby brother.

I could tell that it also bothered Leo how much Mikey was not aware of bein' followed. Tha kid _knew_ that there were dangerous people and yet he seemed totally relaxed and off guard! That….that brat!

We turned when Mikey did and panicked when he causally looked up and around before crossin' a road. We almost got spotted…phew…Leo made us jump up a fire escape and onto tha rooftops just ta follow our brother and Donnie complained about maybe losin' Mike by doin' it this way but we assured him we would not.

"What's he doin'?" I hissed angrily when I realized that he was now in Chinatown area. Leo looked absolutely livid as his never left Mikey's form. Donnie gulped nervously and no one answered me. I sighed and we continued ta follow Mikey until he stopped at an antique shop of some kinds.

"What in the world could he want at an antique store?" Donnie blurted in wonder and I shrugged while Leo pursed his lips lookin' around before lookin' at us pointedly. We nodded and climbed down tha nearest fire escape.

"He _knows_ how dangerous Chinatown is…especially for _us_ ," Leo practically growled ta himself and I was beginnin' ta think he was even angrier than me at Mike for keepin' a secret from us. Then I knew he was more worried than anythin' else.

We waited for five minutes before I realized that Mikey wasn't coming out anytime soon. I looked over at Leo, feelin' annoyed, "He's not comin' out. He's still in there."

Leo's look hardened and he nodded, "Let's go in."

I nearly pushed past Leo and Donnie to get ahead. I was so ready to pummel my baby brother for worryin' us so much. He better have a damn good excuse for this! We all looked grim and cautious as we crossed the street. Donnie nearly stumbled when we opened the door and walked into the antique store.

It was bigger than I first thought. There were obviously antique stuff and old fashioned clothes. It must be a popular store because they also sold snacks, more trendy items and clothes. There were china dishes and other decorative stuff as well. There was a register and a back room of some sorts, but at first we didn't see Mikey.

I was ready ta pull my hair out in worry and frustration when suddenly Don froze beside me and I literally felt it because his shoulder was touchin' mine, though I only now realized it was. Leo and I frowned as we looked at him. His eyes were wide and disbelievin' so we looked ta where he was lookin and my jaw dropped ta tha floor.

Mikey was talkin' cheerfully ta some old woman in the back as she observed some old lookin' tea sets. But that's not the really surprisin' part. He was wearin' a brightly yellow and white colored apron and he was wearin' an orange bandana that kept his curly hair out of his face. He looked kinda like a little kitten or a girl, which was really funny and cute somewhere in tha back of my mind. I'd never ever say that out loud though.

"Uh….um…" Donnie muttered lookin' as lost as Leo and I felt. Tha old woman that Mike was talkin' ta seemed ta thank him and Mikey nodded, turnin' before he froze when his eyes met ours. His eyes widened and he sudden paled, lookin' absolutely mortified.

Donnie and I were startled out of our thoughts when Leo abruptly marched forward and we followed him on autopilot like we did when we were just kids. Mikey looked a little less pale when we reached him but he had a heavy blush on his face from embarrassment, probably because we caught him in what he was wearin'.

"Mikey…" Leo started in that deep rumble he had when he was truly angry. Don and I shared a quick look as Mikey hardly gazed at us, "What are you doing here? Do you realize how worried we've been about you?"

This actually seemed to surprise Mikey because his eyes widened and he looked at Leo, "No…you guys have been worried about me?"

"Yes!" Donnie near blurted as he suddenly looked annoyed, "And why are you wearing that?"

Mikey blushed again and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked both embarrassed and angry, "I didn't know you guys were worried and I'm wearing this because I work here."

Everything went silent for a moment and I felt like explodin', "Huh?! You work here?! Don't ya know how dangerous Chinatown is for us? Why would ya willingly work here, huh?!"

Mikey looked shocked, hurt, then angry after my outburst, "Why do I have to explain myself to you? The lady that owns the place had an ad in the paper and said my age didn't matter! She said I could work here. I'm doing nothing wrong!"

"You're doing everything wrong, Mikey," Leo denied as he looked disappointed, "You didn't even notice we were following you which means you haven't been on guard at all! We've noticed this the past couple of weeks."

"You kept staying away from home all this time too…so of course we're worried," Donnie added as he looked annoyed as well, "But you just go about your business here in Chinatown like there aren't any Purple Dragons who wouldn't happily push us into any traffic."

I was gonna add on again but Mikey was just…staring at us and it was only for a moment before a glare I've never seen before settled on his face, "Wow. You guys really don't trust me, do you? Thanks a lot."

Leo no longer looked angry but shocked as did Donnie and I. Mikey got irritated and annoyed and mad….but he never got _pissed_. Not like he was now. Not like I usually do… "Mikey…"

"No, save it Leo. I got work to do," Mikey put up a hand and then turned, ignoring our shocked gazes as he went ta tha registered and seemingly calmed tha onlooker that used ta be there before he took his place at the register. He no longer looked cheerful, just upset and angry. Was he really that upset at us?

"Well what do we do now?" Donnie spoke up as we watched Mikey, who knew we were still there and purposefully ignorin' us. It kinda hurt ta see him so upset with us, "I thought we were doing a good thing here by following him."

"We were, because we were not sure of what he was getting himself into," Leo argued as he turned to us but then his eyes softened, "I've never seen him so mad before."

"Me either," I added as I sighed, "Why is he so mad at us for?"

"Because….you know how much he trusts whatever we say…or rather Leo and I," Donnie grinned when I glared at him, "But we didn't just trust him when he said he'd be home later and that he had stuff to do. Granted Mikey could have just let us known…"

"That's exactly why we followed. He should have let us known but he _didn't_. He has no right to get mad at us," Leo frowned, "Why does he want to work here so badly anyway?"

"No idea, but you know that we've been pushy about him telling us which is probably the reason he pulled away. And we followed him…we all can't sit here and say we wouldn't get mad if he did that to one of us. I certainly would. Now I kind of understand what he's talking about. We just shown him that we don't trust him," Donnie explained as he looked down sadly.

"I guess," I shrugged, not really carin' because it was better ta do this than worry our hearts out, "I still want ta know why he's workin' here."

Leo nodded and he looked ready to march over when the woman Mikey had been talkin' ta at tha register came over from seemingly nowhere, "Excuse me…"

We all jumped and turned towards tha woman in apprehension. She looked startled before she smiled, "Mikey told me all about you. You're his brothers, right? Leo, Donnie, and Raph?"

Lookin' surprised we all mutely nodded and she continued, "I was surprised to see you all look so heated a moment ago, so I was worried. My name is Amber and I own this shop, you see. I needed some help and Mikey answered my ad a couple of weeks ago."

I blinked and Donnie spoke up curiously, "We were worried because Mikey never told us where we was or what he was doing after school. He only told us he'd be home later than normal. When we tried to ask he just got defensive or twisted our words around. So we followed him. Did he tell you why he wants to work here?"

She looked conflicted and looked down, twistin' her dark blue apron. Leo narrowed his eyes at her, "So he did tell you. Why does he want to work here? It's Chinatown and it's not exactly known for being crime-free."

"Yeah, Mikey said he knew the risks of being here and that he didn't care," Amber said uneasily, as if she were afraid we'd yell at her in her own store, "As for why he wants to work here….I feel as though he should be the one to tell you that."

"Why?" I asked angrily, feelin' confused and worried and just done, "You can tell us right?"

She shook her head and I wanted ta growl in annoyance, "I can't. It's not my secret to tell. I'd feel like a terrible person if I told you when Mikey hasn't yet. You should go ask him."

Leo sighed and turned, stiffenin' in alarm, "And where did he go?"

We all whirled around ta find tha register taken over by another person with Mikey nowhere in sight. Before we could panic Amber laughed lightly and we turned ta look at her, "Mikey is right…you guys are overprotective. When I saw you guys fighting and how angry he'd gotten I told him he could take a break. He's in the back room. You guys can go back there and check on him if you want."

"Thanks," Donnie murmured because Leo and I were already on our way towards the back room. I walked in first and saw him walkin' out of a tiny room. He paused when he saw us and he blinked before he scowled and walked towards a couch, "Mikey-"

"What? Afraid I'd get kidnapped on my way out of the bathroom?" He asked with a tiny scoff and my temper flared.

"Don't be that way ya little brat! Ya know that we were just worried about ya!" I near yelled and his eyes went wide as he looked at me silently. Leo put his hand on my shoulder and I just scowled, tryin' ta calm down.

"We're sorry if we hurt your feelings Mikey, but you didn't give us much of a choice other than following you. You never told us why you were acting different and suddenly you're staying away from home hours more than usual? Even Sensei's worried about you," Leo said bluntly and Mikey looked away with a tiny frown.

"I didn't want you guys to worry. When you stopped asking I was happy…and not because you'd stopped but….but because I though you finally _trusted_ me," He replied as he held his hands together in that familiar way he did when he was upset and felt bad. I sighed and sat heavily by tha kid as Donnie took the other side while Leo stood in front of us. Mikey blinked in alarm when he realized he was trapped by us, makin' me smirk just a tiny bit.

"We do trust you Mikey…but think of it in our shoes. One of us acting weird and then not coming home until late all the while never telling us what's up or where he's at?" Donnie countered softly and Mikey wilted even more.

"Yeah…I…I didn't think of it like _that_. It was just important that you guys didn't figure out," He muttered quietly and we all shared a glance with each other before Leo calmed himself.

"Why?" He simply asked and Mikey sighed heavily before rubbin' his face.

"I needed the job because I needed money and I saw the ad, so I was very happy that I could be able to work because I didn't think I'd be able to find a job that would get me the money I needed in time," Mikey explained as we listened avidly. My eyes widened.

"Why did ya need money so bad?" I questioned as I leaned onto him. He seemed surprised that I was actually leanin' on him but I ignored it.

"It was supposed to be a surprise…but since you guys are so worried…" Mikey whispered before he looked at all of us, "I needed money for your birthday presents."

We all stared at him silently in shock as his face grew redder from embarrassment tha longer we stared. Suddenly everythin' just made more sense. I had been so worried about his behavior that I forgot our birthday was comin' up soon. In almost three weeks actually.

"Oh…" Donnie breathed heavily as Mikey looked ready ta disappear into tha floor. Even his ears were red and I inwardly chuckled. Donnie smiled a little, "That's really thoughtful of you Mikey, but you didn't have to do all this."

"Well…I thought it'd be a cool surprise," Mikey crossed his arms, attemptin' ta hide half his face. Leo began laughin' and Mikey glared, "S-Stop laughing at me Leo! It's not funny…."

"Yes it is!" Leo laughed heavily, causing Donnie and I to start laughin' as well, "I can't believe I forgot! And we were so worried…about you doing ludicrous things. Of _course_ it'd be something like this!"

"You guys _suck_! Stop laughing at me!" Mikey blubbered as his face turned a whole new level of red.

"Haha! You look so cute in your apron and bandana too!" Donnie teased and Mikey hit his shoulder hard, poutin'. Despite that, I saw tha small smile in hidden by his bright blue eyes. Mikey gasped when Donnie hugged him and I leaned more on his shoulder, wipin' tha tears of laughter from my eyes.

"Sorry we upset you bro," Leo apologized as he knelt in front of Mikey, who looked ready ta die from embarrassment, "I think Donnie's right. You look cute in the apron."

"Okay that's it! I'm takin' this thing off," Mikey growled and Leo chuckled before stoppin' him from doing so by grabbin' his hands, "It's just a uniform! I know it's girly so you guys don't have to make fun of me."

"Who's making fun? I thought we were being truthful, right Raph?" Donnie grinned and I grinned back.

"Heck yeah!"

"Not you too, Raph! I'm not cute!" Mikey snapped and I snickered at him as he tried ta tug his hands out of Leo's, "Keep it up and I won't buy your gifts!"

"Ya better buy tha gifts!" I playfully growled and he rolled his eyes, "After causin' so much trouble tha _least_ ya can do is buy us tha gifts."

Leo and Don laughed when Mikey's face fell and he looked at me flatly. I simply smirked in his face, "Not my fault you guys have trust issues."

"Only when it's about you," Donnie smiled and Mikey frowned at him, "Okay, okay, we're sorry we didn't trust you, alright? Please don't stay mad at us."

"Yeah, but we'd do it again…in a _heartbeat_. And only because we were really worried," Leo replied seriously and I wanted ta laugh at that look.

Mikey sighed before a small smile took his face, "Of course I forgive you, bros. If you're _that_ worried all you have ta do is tell me that."

I rolled my eyes, "Like it's that easy with you."

"And it's easy with you either?" Mikey teased and Leo snickered at me. I glared at them but said nothin', "You guys worry too much. I can't even do something _for_ you guys without you getting freaked out about it."

We blushed and he chuckled, not noticin' at first and I scoffed, "Oh freakin' well…better safe than sorry."

Mikey looked surprised at me before he smiled and I looked away, feelin' embarrassed by tha mushy thing I just said.

"Yeah…you're right Raphie. Better safe than sorry!"

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 **YAY! I liked this one-shot! I love any Mikey fluff, or rather any of the brother fluff! I haven't been doing much of Raph's P.O.V so I decided to change it up. Can't wait to read what you guys thought! They really are cute when it's about Mikey!**

 **Stay awesome and thanks so much for the support! :D**


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